11/06/2005

A Remarkable Act of Forgiveness

Instead of speaking words of revenge and death to Israelis, the parents of Ahmed Ismail Khatib, 13, a Palestinian who was mistakenly shot by the IDF, have made a most humane gesture and are donating his organs to six Israelis.

Ahmed was shot after soldiers mistook his toy gun for a real one. Still, his parents decided to donate the organs “for the sake of peace between the two people.”

Meanwhile, the boy’s father said he was invited to meet with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who offered to apologize for the killing, Palestinian news agency Ma’an reported.

According to the Palestinian report, Ismail Khatib said that “if this would serve the Palestinian problem and advance a just peace, I will meet with Sharon and bring him a message of peace.”

Ahmed's heart has been transplanted Sunday into the body of a 12-year-old girl at the Schneider hospital in Petah Tikva. His liver was donated to a six-month old baby and a 66-year-old woman at the Beilinson hospital in town.

Ahmed's lungs will be donated to a 14-year-old Cystic Fibrosis patient, and his kidneys to a five-year-old boy and a four-year-old girl.YNET

There isn't any more that I can add to this remarkable display of forgiveness.

OK, now I am going to be a bitch. While I think it is absolutely amazing what his parents have done, why was this kid at 13 holding a toy gun near where IDF soldiers were? This is what the PA does. They do this to provoke this exact kind of incident. I just feel sorry for the child and the family for being pawns in a deadly game.